Detection of microorganisms, particularly bacteria, is important in a variety of industries, including the food and beverage industry. For example, the need to screen food and water for pathogenic bacteria is crucial to ensuring consumer safety. The determination of levels of certain families of bacteria is a commonly used approach to estimating the shelf life and microbial acceptability of food products and hygienic status of the processing equipment and raw materials used in their manufacture. The diagnosis of microbial infections also relies on the detection of the causative organism(s).
There are many methods known for detecting bacteria. For example, bacteriophage, which are viruses that infect bacteria, may be employed. The presence of the bacteriophage, the infected bacteria, or the lack thereof, may be detected. These known methods suffer from various drawbacks. For example, the sample to be tested or equipment used may be contaminated during the handling of the sample. Another problem involves ease of use of the associated detection device. Still another problem encountered is the time it takes to detect a microorganism. Yet another potential problem involves containment of the components of the assay, such as for example, phage or helper bacteria, to prevent certain infection of the surrounding environment.